EVOLO SKYSCRAPER

Democratizing “place,” and access to “space”
Chicago’s network of elevated trains, fondly nicknamed the “L”, is an iconic symbol of the city, with a presence spanning over a century. Originally built in response to downtown congestion, it has grown into an efficient transport system that inherits an industrial, gritty character: intersecting webs of riveted and weathered steel, with rumbling trains suspended over shaded streetscapes, peak into adjacent buildings while branching through a winding tapestry of neighborhoods. At its center, tracks coalesce into a large ring surrounding Chicago’s dense central business district, creating what is called “The Loop” and rendering a uniquely interconnected urban composition.
“The Sky Line” is a symbiotic extension of the “L”, plugging into an existing infrastructure to generate novel opportunities in the movement of both people and the structures they occupy. Diverging from elevated lines, new tracks, secured by lattice metal extrusions, navigate unoccupied and interstitial airspace. Methodically, these members transition into vertical fingers, running up building facades or merging into independent towers that rise above competing elevations. Upon the “L”, and newly created interconnecting paths, modular pods transport passengers while carrying pockets of programmatically neutral volumes. Upon arrival to their destinations, these spaces, through a multitude of possible configurations and colocations, create unique access to utilities, locations, and experiences:
“Opening into a building face upon which the structure scales, a traveler discovers an optimally convenient commute, directly into their office.”
“Alternatively, a start-up business, constrained by limited meeting space, rents a temporary private conference room, delivered on demand outside their office window, which has now become a threshold.”
“A suburban resident wants the experience of waking up to the sunrise over Lake Michigan, with an incredible view reserved for those with significant financial means. Owning a penthouse is not required, here, because upon the soaring lattice towers they arrive in their pod, a private space temporarily occupying a “prime” place.”
“The resident discovers an old friend had a similar idea, seeing them suspended on an adjacent vertical track. Taking this opportunity, their spaces connect upon that tower, bridged by a pod carrying the necessities for a friendly dinner over the city lights.”
Expanding upon the rich history and utility of the city’s rapid transport system, “The Sky Line” is a spanning structure that can be integrated into the fabric of Chicago. As a framework upon which space can navigate and agglomerate freely, bridging the horizontality of transportation with the verticality of a downtown typology, new programmatic possibilities enrich experience, while democratizing access to it.